Mounting for bulldozer blades



Sept. 22, 1970 M. J. TEASDALE MOUNTING FOR BULLDOZER BLADES Filed Aug. 14. 1968 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORS MAX. J. TEASDALE 32 L 7 9%? .ATZORNEYS United States Patent 3,529,678 MOUNTING FOR BULLDOZER BLADES Max J. Teasdale, Joliet, lll., assignor to Caterpillar Tractor Co., Peoria, Ill., a corporation of California Filed Aug. 14, 1968, Set. N 0. 752,716 Int. Cl. E0215 3/76 11.5. Cl. 172-804 3 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A mounting for supporting a bulldozer blade on a tractor including motors for raising and lowering, tilting, angling and varying pitch of the blade. A pair of support plates are pivoted to each other for relative rotation about a common axis, one of the plates being pivoted to a frame mounted on the vehicle with the blade being pivoted to the other plate with the three pivot axes each being perpendicular to the other two.

In many applications, it is desirable for a bulldozer blade mounting to permit the blade to be raised and lowered, tilted, pitched and angled for performing various earthmoving jobs. The mounting must stably support the blade while permitting it to move in the above manner. Tilting of the blade raises a particular problem. Most prior art designs, for example, cause substantial bending or torsional stresses in the mounting or in the blade itself when the blade is tilted out of a normal position. It is therefore desirable to provide means by which the blade can be tilted without causing substantial stresses in the mounting or in the blades.

It is also desirable to minimize the overall dimension of a vehicle or tractor having a bulldozer blade mounted on one end. Additionally, it is desirable that the blade mounting permit the blade to be raised and lowered without substantially varying the blade pitch.

The present invention provides such a mounting including means for tilting, angling and varying pitch of the blade. A pair of support plates are pivoted to each other with one of the plates being pivoted to a frame mounted on the vehicle and the blade being pivoted to the other plate to permit desired movement of the blade while minimizing stresses developed in the mounting and in the blade.

It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide a bulldozer blade mounting for minimizing overall dimension of a vehicle supporting a bulldozer blade. It is another object to provide a bulldozer blade mounting which permits the blade to be tilted while minimizing stresses in the mounting and in the blade.

It is also an object to provide a bulldozer blade mounting which maintains generally constant blade pitch while the blade is being raised and lowered.

Additional objects and advantages of the invention are made apparent in the following description having reference to the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a bulldozer blade supported on the forward end of the vehicle by means of the present mounting;

FIG. 2 is a side elevation view, with parts in section, taken along section line II-II of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the mounting and bulldozer blade removed from the vehicle for greater clarity.

Referring to FIG. 1, a bulldozer blade 11 is supported by means of a mounting '12 upon the forward end of a vehicle 13 having ground engaging means 14. The vehicle may be a crawler type tractor as illustrated in FIG. 1 with the ground engaging means 14 being tracks. Referring also to FIGS. 2 and 3, the mounting 12 comprises a generally conventional C-frame 16 supported upon the 3,529,678 Patented Sept. 22, 1970 Y ice vehicle by means of pivots 17 which are located inside the tracks 14 to reduce the overall dimensions of the tractor and blade attachment. The blade -11 is preferably of a U-shaped configuration having forwardly projecting end portions 18 and 19. The blade configuration is selected so that reduced angling of the blade permits effective side casting of material from either ends of the blade. The blade design also permits increased retention of material in front of the blade, for example during cleanup operations.

The mounting 12 permits angling, tilting and pitching of the blade without causing substantial stresses in the blade or mounting through the use of a pair of plate members 21 and 22. The plates 21 and 22 are secured to gether by means of a pivot pin 23 which is held in place by means of a cap 24 and is arranged along a longitudinal axis of the vehicle 13. Brackets 26 extend rearwardly from each side of the plate 21 and are secured to the frame 16 by pivot joints 27 (see FIG. 2). The pivot joints 27 are arranged along a generally horizontal transverse axis relative to the vehicle 13. Another pair of brackets 28 extend forwardly from the plate 22 and are pivoted at 29 to the blade 11 along a generally vertical axis. In this manner, pivotal interaction between the plate 21 and the C-frame 16 permits the blade pitch to be varied. Interaction of the plates 21 and 22 about the pivot pin 23 permits the blade to be tilted. Also, pivotal interaction of the blade with respect to the plate 22 about the pivot axis 29 permits the blade to be angled, for example, between its position shown at 11 and a position illustrated in broken lines at 11'. The blade may accordingly be moved to any desired position without substantially increasing stresses in either the blade 11 or the mounting 12.

To selectively raise and lower the blade 11 along with the mounting 12, a pair of hydraulic motors or cylinders 31 are pivotally interconnected between the sides of the vehicle 13 by means of pivot joints 32 and the C-frame by means of pivot joints 33. Extension of the cylinders 31 tends to lower the blade relative to the vehicle while retraction of the cylinder tends to raise the blade.

A pair of hydraulic cylinders 34 are arranged between the vehicle and the plate member 21 to selectively vary pitch of the blade 11. The cylinders 34 are affixed to the vehicle by means of pivot joints 36 while their rod ends 37 are secured by pivot joints 38 to brackets 39 which extend rearwardly from the plate member 21. Referring particularly to FIG. 2, the pitch jacks 34, as represented by the one rod 37 and the C-frame 16 generally form two sides of a parallelogram support for the blade so that blade pitch remains substantially constant while the blade is being raised and lowered by means of the jacks 31.

Use of the parallel plates 21 and 22 permits the arrangement of angling and pitching motor means 41 and 42, respectively, so that they are protected by means of the plates from engagement with dirt or rocks. Further the arrangement of these two motors facilitates minimized overall lengths for the vehicle and blade attachments. The titlting motor or hydraulic cylinder 42 has its rod 43 pivotally secured to a bracket 44 which extends rearwardly from the plate member 22 through an enlarged opening in the other plate member 21. The opening 46 is sulficiently large so that the bracket 44 does not interfere with the plate member 21 during relative tilting of the blade 11 and plate member 22. The other end of the tilt cylinder 42 is pivotally secured at 47 to a bracket 48 mounted on the plate member 21. During tilting of the blade 11, the plate member 22 is rotated relative to the plate member 21 about the pivot pin 23 (see FIG. 2). To further stabilize the mounting while still permitting relative rotation of the plate members 21 and 22, a plurality of lugs 51 project rearwardly from the plate member 22 through arcuate slots 52 formed in the other plate member 21.

The lugs 51 and slots 52 are arranged circumferentially about the pivot pin 23 to permit relative rotation of the plate members 21 and 22 during titlting of the blade 11 while providing structural reinforcement between the plate members 21 and 22.

The hydraulic cylinder 41 for controlling blade angling is pivotally connected at 53 to a bracket 54 which projects rearwardly from the blade 11 through an enlarged opening 56 in both of the plate members 21 and 22. The opening 56 is sufficiently large so that the bracket 54 does not interfere with either of the plate members as the blade is being angled by means of the hydraulic cylinder 41. The rod 57 of the angling cylinder 41 is pivotally secured to a bracket 58 which extends rearwardly from the plate member 22 through an enlarged opening 59 in the plate member 21. The opening 59 is sufiiciently large so that the bracket 58 does not interfere with the plate member 21 during relative rotation of the plate members by means of the tilting cylinder 42.

What is claimed is:

1. A mounting assembly for supporting a bulldozer blade upon a vehicle, comprising:

a frame member pivotally supported on one end of the vehicle,

one plate member secured to the frame member by means of a pivot connection having a transverse and horizontal axis, a member being pivotally interconnected between the one plate member and the vehicle to establish pitch of the one plate member,

another plate member pivotally mounted on the one plate member for permitting coplanar pivotal motion between the plate members about a tilt axis lying in generally longitudinal relation with respect to the vehicle,

a generally vertical pivot connection supporting the blade upon the other plate member andforming an angling axis,

a linear motor for tilting the other plate member and blade, the titl motor being interconnected between the plate members and arranged in parallel relation thereto, and

a linear motor for angling the blade being interconnected between the other plate member and a bracket extending rearwardly from the blade, the angling motor being arranged in generally paralle relation with the other plate member,

the frame member and pitch controlling member forming opposite sides of a parallelogram as viewed from a side of the vehicle and mounting to maintain substantially constant pitch in the blade as it is raised and lowered relative to the vehicle with the blade positioned for generally vertical pitch.

2. A mounting assembly for supporting a bulldozer blade upon a vehicle, comprising:

a frame member pivotally supported on one end of the vehicle,

one plate member secured to the frame member by means of a pivot connection having a transverse and horizontal axis, a member being pivotally interconnected between the one plate member and the vehicle to establish pitch of the one plate member,

another plate member pivotally mounted on the one plate member for permitting coplanar pivotal motion between the plate members about a tilt axis lying in generally longitudinal relation with respect to the vehicle,

a generally vertical pivot connection supporting the blade upon the other plate member and forming an i angling axis,

' a linear motor for tilting the other plate member and blade, the tilt motor being interconnected between the two plate members and arranged in parallel relation thereto, and

a linear motor for angling the blade being interconnected between the other plate member and a bracket extending rearwardly from the blade, the angling motor being arranged in generally parallel relation with the other plate member,

the angling motor being mounted parallel to and behind the one plate member by means of one bracket extending rearwardly from the blade through enlarged openings defined by both plate members and another bracket extending rearwardly from the other plate member through an enlraged opening in the one plate member.

3. The invention of claim 1 wherein the member maintaining pitch of the one plate member together with the other plate member and the blade is a linear motor providing for adjustment of blade pitch.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,160,596 5/1939 Le Bleu 172804 2,629,946 3/1953 Ewers et al. 172-804 2,749,630 6/1956 Nave l72804 2,904,910 9/1959 Armington 172805 2,973,592 3/1961 Abel 172804 3,083,480 4/1963 Kirchler 172-803 3,084,461 4/1963 Beckford 172804 3,157,099 11/1964 Ulrich 172-804 X 3,246,406 4/1966 Ray 172-804 FOREIGN PATENTS 155,899 3/1954 Australia. 1 12,104 9/ 1964 Czechoslovakia.

ROBERT E. BAGW'ILL, Primary Examiner A. E. KOPECKI, Assistant Examiner U.S., Cl. XJR. 172484, 739, 809 

